E-Mobility

Tesla has now topped both the fuel efficiency and luxury vehicle sales rankings in the US, a feat that would have been unthinkable just a few years back. Deliveries of its expensive electric cars to buyers last year have managed to beat premium car juggernauts like BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Lexus.

Tesla has been granted big Austin Gigafactory expansion permits by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, the majority of which seem to be referring to battery-making facilities. The Model Y with the cell-to-pack 4680 battery is assembled there, so there could be a huge production boost in that direction.

An exclusive footage obtained via a California Public Records Act freedom of information request details how the 8-vehicle pileup that a Tesla Model S caused on San Francisco's Bay Bridge over Thanksgiving happened. The footage jibes with the driver's claims about illogical FSD behavior in the fast lane.

Volkswagen now claims that it shipped nearly 24% more electric cars to customers in 2022 compared to 2021, doubling those sent to those in China and also growing those sent to the North American market. The ID.4 was found to be responsible for most of these shipments, and was also deemed the best-selling car in one market for the second year running.

Since there is little room left for increasing the Model 3 and Model Y production efficiencies, or for further component cost decrease, the recent round of Tesla vehicle price cuts is likely to be its last for a good while. Despite protests by recent buyers who got left out of the price adjustment, Tesla sold 10,000 units on discount day.

The culprit responsible for the Volkswagen ID.4 recall in the US is a 12-volt battery cable, which apparently rubs against the steering column and could possibly cause a short circuit and a fire if the resulting friction damages the cable’s insulation.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration wants to know why did Elon Musk say that Tesla will be removing the warning to hold the steering wheel while the car is in self-driving mode. On January 1, Elon Musk tweeted that the 'nag' may be nixed with the next FSD update.

Fiido has announced that it will start the new year with a new website, which comes with hints as to the launch of a whole new range of electric bikes, some of which may come in brand-first form-factors. They include one touted to come with a display of unprecedented upgrades; a first-gen mountain-style vehicle and something with "bigger wheels, bigger power and bigger adventure".

Zendure touts its SuperBase V as a full home power back-up solution thanks to its switch to "EV-grade" semi-solid state energy storage, as opposed to the lithium-based batteries of most conventional portable stations. It is rated to deliver 6.4kWh in its base-station mode, although it can scale up to 64kWh as a double unit with add-on Satellite Batteries.

The Tesla Model S Plaid managed to beat а Porsche Taycan Turbo S, a Lucid Air, and an electric Audi RS in real-life acceleration test done with a foot of rollout subtracted. The Model S Plaid has now become the fastest car ever tested in Motor Trend's 0-60 MPH vehicle acceleration rankings.

Rumors suggest that the first EV to be released by Xiaomi will be a medium sedan, available in two versions. According to the source, the first Xiaomi electric car will start between 260,000 and 300,000 yuan (~US$38,022 to US$43,870). The alleged options include an entry-level car with a 400 V platform and a more expensive 800 V model.

The Kia Niro EV Cargo has been revealed in the Netherlands. The electric vehicle uses a conversion kit to add parts, such as an aluminum coated load area and metal divider behind the front seats, transforming the Niro into a delivery vehicle. The Niro EV Cargo has up to 460 km (~286 miles) range and 255 Nm of torque.

Tesla car owners would no longer be able to count on their windows closing automatically as they lock the vehicle and walk away from it, neither could they use the remote closure and Vent modes from the app. The culprit appears to be a new overzealous regulation change in Section 5 of the federal vehicle safety standard.

While the Volkswagen ID.7 was obscured by distracting digital patterns during its official reveal earlier this week, two unofficial render images now provide a much better look at the potential design of the all-electric follow-up to the VW Arteon.

The Shadow Mode feature of the upcoming Ram 1500 Revolution electric pickup truck will allow its driver to walk slowly around a job site and have the truck follow it on its own. The 1500 Revolution concept shown at CES also has a retracting steering wheel and console to increase interior space.

Citing increased manufacturing efficiencies and decreased component costs, Tesla made another round of drastic Model Y and Model 3 price 'adjustments'. The Model Y, in particular, now starts from just US$37,875 in China, a price that is 43% lower than the SUV's tag in the US.

The futuristic electric motorcycle made by the relatively young company from Finland comes with a striking in-wheel motor and a sleek overall design, but the exciting two-wheeler also packs a punch in terms of performance and price.

The first two vehicles with BYD's new e⁴ platform that offers independent AWD motion that can stop a vehicle without brakes or steering wheel, are a big SUV as well as a fast hypercar. The U8 offroader will cost US$145,000, while the Yangwang U9 will accelerate in under 3 seconds.

Equipped with 45 cameras and sensors, as well as with 800 TOPS Qualcomm Snapdragon computing power, the first EV of the Sony Honda Mobility joint venture will launch under the brand name Afeela. While the prototype shown at CES 2023 has gaming ecosystem based on Epic's Unreal Engine, infotainment may be tasked to the PS5 platform in the future.

Qualcomm has arrived at the Las Vegas Convention Center to highlight the current and ongoing role of its Snapdragon Ride Platforms as prominent automotive processing solutions. This involves a debut for the inaugural Ride Flex SoC, a new way to put automated driving (AD) and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) on the same chip. It is also to come pre-integrated with Snapdragon Ride Vision for potentially unified hardware- and software-based vehicular development.

Tesla shipped fewer electric cars than its own forecasts last year, but is still the king on the EV block. The Warren Buffett-backed BYD delivered 1.86 million 'new energy vehicles' in 2022, of which more than 911,000 EVs, riding on the wings of customers looking for cheaper electric vehicles that are nevertheless direct Tesla model competitors when it comes to specs or craftsmanship.

A consumer watchdog has imposed a fine on Tesla for grossly exaggerated driving range estimates marketed on its website, as well as misleading Supercharger performance advertising. The fine has been levied for false fuel cost efficiency claims in comparison with ICE vehicles as well.

The e-vehicle start-up Davinci Motor has announced that it is coming to CES 2023 with its upcoming motorcycle. The DC100 is touted to rival traditional 1,000cc machines with its specs, not to mention its "futuristic" design. Davinci also backs it to achieve an appreciable range, replenished with fast DC charging.

In addition to a significantly shorter range per charge, the Supercharger experiment with the Tesla Model 3 Performance illustrates another weakness that EV drivers may have to deal with in super cold winter temperatures, although this particular scenario is quite unlikely to happen during regular usage.

The IRS has published the full list of electric vehicles that will qualify for the US$7,500 federal tax credit starting January 1, 2023. Eight of them are Tesla Model Y and Model 3 versions, but not all Model Ys are considered SUVs by the IRS with the respective higher US$80,000 purchase limit.

It's the end of the road for flipping used Tesla cars at a profit, it seems, as they now stay much longer on dealer lots than other used vehicles, and command much lower price than they used to just a few months ago. Meanwhile, Tesla's production output slowdown in the Shanghai Gigafactory will be extended into January as well.

Besides the long-teased 500 kW charging station that can top up electric vehicles in 12 minutes, NIO used its annual event to unveil an ES8 SUV refresh and an EC7 electric coupe with just 0.23 drag coefficient. In addition, NIO showed automatic battery swaps on the highway that its EVs do on their own.

Yet another source is suggesting that LG may become a major Apple Car components supplier, but this time it might be Apple that has approached it. LG has reportedly crafted a working group to entertain Apple's supply request for everything from batteries to the cameras needed for an eventual Apple Car autonomous driving kit.

Porsche has revealed a new 19.2 kW onboard charger for the Taycan, which nearly halves the time to reach full charge. For example, the standard battery will now fully charge in 4.8 rather than 9.5 hours. The part will be an option for new EVs and can also be retrofitted to older models.

BMW's long-term commitment to the solid-state battery technology research of the US company Solid Power seems to finally be bearing fruit. The two companies will establish a partnership over a pilot solid-state battery cell production in Germany.

Tesla apparently expects its cars to qualify for the whole of the new EV federal subsidy on January 1, so it is now doubling the credit it was giving to customers who buy its EVs for December delivery. The Treasury postponed its subsidy requirement guidelines for March, and now all made-in-US EVs will reportedly get the full subsidy amount in Q1.

It will cost US$300,000-US$400,000 per dealership to retrofit the lots for electric vehicle sales from their current state, reports Buick. Those dealers who don't accept the GM buyout and prefer to remain independent will have to prepare for the EV era of cars like the Electra E5 that Buick will be bringing to the US in 2024.

Bose has revealed that it is now an audio partner for Volvo in-car systems, starting with the new EX90. The new all-electric vehicle thus comes with a branded multi-speaker array optimized for its sports utility vehicle (SUV) design. It is rated to create a surround-sound effect that serves each seat with "accurate" bass and noise-dampening technology.

The US$3,750 EV credit that Tesla started giving to December buyers to make them pull the trigger instead of wait for the federal subsidy may have been too little. The Treasury Department delayed the issuing of its subsidy requirement guidelines until March, so Teslas may now qualify for the full US$7,500 tax credit amount.

The pricing for the 2023 Kia EV6 GT for the Australian market may have been leaked after a third-party price guide listed the model as costing AU$99,590 (~US$66,825). The EV is due to launch officially at the Australian Open when pricing is expected to be confirmed by the company.

The Mercedes-Benz AMG EQE 43 4MATIC electric SUV is now available to order from the company’s German website. The EV has a 350 kW 858 Nm motor and up to 476 km (~296 miles) WLTP range. Other models, such as the EQE 350+, EQE 350 4MATIC and EQE 500 4MATIC, are expected to be available to order from spring 2023.

The initial US$1 billion Tesla investment in its newest Gigafactory in Santa Catarina may be expanded to US$10 billion when the plant starts assembling a new, cheaper to produce model there in a few years. Elon Musk already met twice with local officials there and Tesla has reportedly acquired the Giga Mexico plots, too.

Tesla cars consume the least fuel when converted to the miles per gallon metric, followed by Japanese or Korean brands like Subaru, Kia, Hyundai, Toyota, Honda, and Mazda. Then come the German automakers, while the gas-guzzling trend puts GM, Ford, or Stellantis, at a disadvantage.

One of the considered proposals might be a US battery plant ownership where CATL isn't an investor but just managing production and providing the LFP cell technology. The world's largest battery maker may have been exploring a battery plant in Mexico before the subsidy act passed.

Instead of an outright price cut, Tesla keeps piling incentives for American and European customers if they take buy a car for a December delivery from the EV maker. After the generous credit towards the purchase of a car in stock both in the US and Europe, Tesla now adds free Supercharger miles.

By the time Tesla's Cybertruck launches, it may have a veritable onslaught of competition in the electric pickup category and not only by Ford or Rivian. Toyota just teased its first fully electric pickup truck, too, the Hilux Revo BEV.

Vehicles equipped with the affordable LFP batteries of the type Tesla uses in its standard range Model Y and Model 3 will be able to cover 500 miles on a charge with Svolt's new Dragon Armor battery packs. Employing cell-to-chassis technology, the packs are also much safer than traditional EV batteries.

The base Ford F-150 Lightning model now starts from US$56,000, in a second round of price increases for the last three months or so. Meanwhile, Tesla is offering a Model Y and Model 3 price discounts for cars in existing inventory sitting in its European warehouses.

Tesla's new 'automotive grade' in-car SSD does what other durable 1TB solid-state drives can do, but for the whopping price of US$350 when it launches in February. On the other hand, Tesla cut its home charging station prices both in its online store and over at Best Buy where the home charger recently went on sale, too.

The Tesla Model Y and Model X seem to be the best bet for the least amount of electric vehicle range drop in cold weather, study finds. The Model 3 is not too shabby, either, why for some like the Ford Mustang Mach-E the winter weather battery range drop could reach double what Tesla's electric SUVs manage.

Tesla's long-awaited 1MW+ Semi long-haul truck Megacharger stations are starting to pop up at more locations where Semis are being delivered to commercial customers. Those factory-installed Megachargers are seemingly drawing grid electricity still, though, a long way from the solar charging independence vision of Tesla.

Just when Sony and Honda announced they are partnering to bring the PlayStation 5 gaming and entertainment experience to their future electric cars, Tesla now made good on the promise to launch Steam in its vehicles. Well, in recent Model S and Model X units, at least.

STMicroelectronics has announced that the Hyundai Motor Group will use its silicon-carbide power module in various EVs. The Kia EV6 has been officially named as a model set to receive the new part, which could increase the range by up to 5%. The Hyundai Ioniq 5, Hyundai Ioniq 6 and Genesis GV60 might also get the new module.

Stellantis may be going big on microtransactions to unlock various features that come standard on its future electric cars, as it tries to recoup some of the increased costs of EV making. Illinois State Senators are scrambling to save the Belvidere plant that Stellantis said will close due to the expenses involved in EV production.

"Plaintiff purchased a second Tesla Model 3, relying on advertisement from the company that all Tesla 3 models come with all the necessary hardware for self-driving," argued the judge, and awarded him a free FSD computer upgrade. Tesla also has to compensate the plaintiff for unwarranted upgrade that lost AM radio functionality.